Bags and carrying cases are commonly used to transport items from one location to another. Items may be contained and supported within an internal enclosure during transportation. Most bags also include some form of user attachment system that allows a user to support the bag during transportation. Many types of user-based attachment systems are designed to be positioned on a user's body in a configuration that supports the bag without assistance from the user's appendages. For example, backpack shoulder straps may be individually looped around each of a user's shoulders to support the backpack in an orientation that does not require the user to hold it with their arms. However, each type of user attachment system possesses particular performance characteristics and limitations that affect the utility of the bag. For example, a single shoulder strap or messenger style user attachment system is undesirable for exclusive support of a bag with heavier loads due to potential back and/or shoulder discomfort.
Bags and carrying cases may be further classified according to their overall shape, user attachment system(s), and material of composition. One subset of carrying cases includes bags which attach to a user's waist such as backpacks, hip-packs, shoulder bags, messenger bags, etc. These types of carrying systems may also include other user attachment systems such as shoulder straps, handles, etc. in addition to a waist attachment. A waist attachment system refers to some form of straps, belts, hooks, etc. that couple to the waist region of a user. In general, the carrying portion of the carrying system is primarily positioned on the dorsal side of the user, and the waist attachment system includes two straps which extend from the left and right regions to the ventral side of the user's body. The two straps may then be releasably coupled together forming a continuous support strap encircling the user's dorsal and ventral waist region from the carrying portion of the carrying system. By encircling the user's waist with support straps, weight is distributed between the carrying portion of the carrying system and the user's waist. It is advantageous to include rigid padded regions on the waist straps at positions corresponding to the user's hips in order to optimize load distribution and comfort during operation.
One of the problems with conventional waist-type user attachment systems is the inability of the waist attachment system to be efficiently adjusted to optimally correspond to a variety of user waist sizes. Most adjustable waist attachment systems include some form of adjustable straps which may be either lengthened or shortened to accommodate a particular user waist circumference. Unfortunately, merely adjusting the length of the straps fails to optimally align certain portions of the straps with the user's anatomy, resulting in discomfort and/or reduced performance for certain sizes of a user's waist circumference. For example, most waist attachment system straps include a padded region and an adjustable region. The padded region is positioned adjacent to the dorsal side of the user, the remainder of the carrying system, and/or the enclosed region of the carrying system. The adjustable region is usually not padded and extends distally away from the padded region and the enclosed region toward the ventral side of the user to allow for adjustment. The optimal user configuration of the waist attachment system wraps the padded regions over a substantial portion of the user's waist circumference, including the user's dorsal and hip regions, so as to optimize comfort during use. Economically, it is desirable to manufacture a single carrying apparatus that may accommodate a large range of user waist sizes. However, to enable maximum adjustability between small and large user waist circumferences, many waist attachment systems include straps with relatively long, adjustable non-padded regions. Therefore, if user's with a relatively large waist circumference, they must position the adjustable non-padded regions of the straps over portions of their waist, thereby causing discomfort, chaffing, and reduced performance during use.
Therefore, there is a need in the industry for an adjustable waist attachment system that enables adjustment over a range of waist circumference without compromising on the comfort and performance of the carrying system.